Geode Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,494,751 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 30,408 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.62% of Maximus worth $111,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus in the 4th quarter worth $71,443,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Maximus by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,548,284 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $488,829,000 after buying an additional 205,564 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Maximus by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 551,146 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $41,143,000 after buying an additional 167,019 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus during the 4th quarter worth $10,266,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Maximus by 285.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,971 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $15,927,000 after purchasing an additional 126,573 shares during the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maximus Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE MMS opened at $67.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.68. Maximus, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.77 and a 1-year high of $93.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.49.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. Equities research analysts expect that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMS shares. Raymond James upgraded Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maximus

In other news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $988,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,167.68. This represents a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $165,144.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,347.87. This represents a 11.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Maximus

Maximus, Inc operates as a provider of government services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Federal Services, U.S. Services, and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers program eligibility support and enrollment; centralized multilingual customer contact centers, multichannel, and digital self-service options for enrollment; application assistance and independent health plan choice counseling; beneficiary outreach, education, eligibility, enrollment, and redeterminations; and person-centered independent disability, long-term sick, and other health assessments.